Caroline Burke | Burkatron

there's a few bit's and bobs that I'm currently lovin' in my daily routine; I thought I'd bundle them together for a post as they're not items I'd usually review individually! so without further ado here's a few things I though were worth of a mention/shout out/thumbs up/not a complete waste of money: 

yep, my love affair with blue nails continues!

I was sent some nail polishes by the lovely peeps at look fantastic and I had to share this one with you! it's a gorgeous little number from the O.P.I euro collection called can't find my Czechbook 

I don't own a huge amount of O.P.I polishes but I've loved the ones I've tried in the past. 

as expected it's a good formula (you only need 1-2 coats for full coverage) it has a high shine gloss finish and I've been wearing it for a few days with no chips (so far so good!) 

I love the colour; bright without being garish it reminds me of vintage denim and summer skies.. sigh, hurry up summer!

overall I give this collection a big thumbs up; lilac's, pinks, blues and metallic I think there's a colour for everyone (they're available here with free delivery if you fancy a sneaky peek!)

what do you guys think? are you fans of O.P.I?

caroline x

a quick little review for you guys today! since it's valentines in a few days I thought I'd share a few nail polishes I was sent by look fantastic recently. 

these ORLY polishes are from their limited edition 'I love nails' spring 2013 valentines collection and are appropriately themed in colour and name... awww!

so here are some swatches from two of the range:

toast the couple is a peachy nude that has a frost/pearlised finish. 

I don't wear pearlised polishes so this one isn't for me but I know they're quite popular so I thought I show you how it swatched! I was surprised how much I like it once applied and the formula is nice and rich without being thick and heavy. It hasn't quite won me round to frosted nails but I have to say I don't hate it! 

I used 3 coats here but I'd say 2 would be enough if you were in a hurry!

monroe's red is a bright pillar box red polish!

this one is my cup of tea! every girl needs a stand out va va voom red in their collection and this is no exception! bright, super glossy and one hell of a statement this is my favourite polish from the I love nails range. there's something that just oozes sex appeal about red polish; if I'm feeling a little meh this is definitely the polish I'd put on to give me a lift!

the I love nails collection is available here with free shipping; if you can't decide which is your favourite there's a mini selection with all four colours to tempt you with!

what nail colour will you be wearing this valentines, have you tried ORLY polishes before?

caroline x

back combing, skipping conditioner, regular dying, heat damage...generally not being nice to your hair?

yup I'm guilty on all counts! since christmas my hair has been really dry (also full of static, rahhh!!) so I've been trying out this new wella SP luxe oil I was sent to see if it can work some magic on my barnet!

I'm was little scared of hair oils, I just assumed they'd make my hair look really lank and greasy! I still think they will but only if you apply too much or too close to the roots. since my hair is long I just apply it towards the ends where it's driest.

I like this luxe oil, it contains argan, jojoba and almond oil so you only need one small pump for each application and my hair definitely felt noticeably softer after the first use. I've been using it to tame flyaway hairs too (if I've curled my hair I run a tiny bit between my palms and use it like a smoothing serum!) I like the bottle too, it's heavy and feels quite luxurious!

My favourite way to double up on this though is to apply too much the night before I'm due to wash my hair! I put my hair into a high pony and run it through before rolling it up into a topknot (pineapple style) and leaving it overnight! I wash it out the next morning and go back to applying a little bit through the ends over the next day or so, possibly not the recommended use aha but it works for me!

my skins felt so dry lately I decided to make a princess skin action plan... it's been ages since I've taken advantage of a boots 3 for 2 offer so I though it was high time to indulge myself with a little pampering session!

after a 10 minute debate over the entire range of soap & glory products I opted for the following three:

whipped clean:

my new favourite, this is a cream wash shower butter; it smells of vanilla, pistachio and almond (delicious) and you only need a small amount to create a really sudsy lather! it's definitely a good alternative to shaving foam as well as it's 25% oils and butters so is nice and moisturising on your legs. 

flake away:

I've used this before in a miniature size so already knew I like this scrub (my all time favourite is still the lush's brilliantly named buffy the backside slayer but this is quite high on my list and the 3 for 2 offers makes it a good option!) 

flake away has a good amount of texture without being too rough on your skin (for extra exfoliating action I use it straight onto dry skin and then jump into the shower!) the scent is lovely but hard to describe, if I had to narrow it down I'd guess peaches! I use a lot of this so I can see this one running out fast even though it's a big tub.

smoothie star:

I really love the smell of this moisturiser, it reminds me of golden syrup on porridge, mmmmm almost good enough to eat (officially the scent is almond, oats and brown sugar!)

the first night I tried this I slathered on so much I was rather sticky and uncomfortable for rest of the evening (hate that!) it does however sink in quickly if you don't go overboard! I've been putting it on straight out of the tub when my skin is warm and the results have been good, my skin feels hydrated again (take that winter!) and it's such a big bottle I think it will last me ages...bonus!

all in all I give my latest soap & glory purchases a big thumbs up!

have you tried any of the range? what did you think?

caroline x

as you guys know I'm obsessed with nail art! when I was contacted by rio beauty to ask if I wanted to test out some of their nail art pens I was really excited. I'm a picky reviewer and I decided when I first started blogging to only ever review products that I've purchased myself or would purchase. these pens definitely fall into that category, I've nearly bought them before but I was wary of buying a set of 8 in case I didn't like them!

boy I wish I'd got them earlier, they're really good! I tried out two sets and I'm giving both the thumbs up. they have a super fine nib for small dots/details and a long thin brush for stripes, both of which are professional quality and so easy to paint with. 

the models own pens I use at the moment need a firm pressure to get a steady flow from nib but these are really free flowing (don't squeeze too much or it gets messy!) I did my nails in record time and my hands didn't ache after.. hurrah!

if you're looking at buying a set to get started I definitely recommend the original set (pictured below) 

it contains black, white, plus all the primary colours that you'll need. (I've never had a red nail art pen so was quite excited to be able to paint hearts on my nails!)

there's also metallic silver and pink; personally I'd not get as much use out of these as the others but overall this is my favourite nail art set.

theres also a neon set (below) which is gorgeous! the blue and pinks are my favourites in this pack; you also get the basic black and white pen which are essential to most designs. 

oh I forgot to mention you also get a dvd, gold glitter and rhinestones with each pack which was a nice surprise (please note: it's not a ryan gosling dvd its just about nail art I'm afraid)

well I couldn't not share the results from my little trial.. the daisies were so quick to do with these pens! if you're looking into buying some you can check them out here ...there's also a pastel and metallic set available.

what do you think? are you in the market for some pens?

caroline x